New to satellite TV, Noob questions

[franktam918]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this whole new satellite/DirecTV world, and I have some dumb questions that want to ask. Hopefully can get some help from the experience people here. I am moving into a new townhouse which has 3 story, and want to get rid of comcast(I live in CA BTW). And I currently have 2 HDTV, 1 SDTV. Here is what I am going to setup:

1st HDTV will be in the living room on the 2nd floor.
2nd HDTV will be in one of the room on the 3rd floor.
The SDTV will be on the 1st floor.
Planning to buy a 3rd HDTV for the second room on the 3rd floor (maybe in another 3 months)

I already have a cable connector in the living room and the rooms on the 3rd floor, but nothing on the 1st floor.

Here goes my (noob) questions:
1. Do I have to use the receiver for the TV or I can use the build in TV-tuner of my TV?
2. If my TV already has a built-in HD tuner, do I still need a HD-receiver in order to have HD access?
3. I am worry about the room in the first floor, since there is no cable connector, will the installer charge me a lot for wiring?
4. Since I don't have the 3rd HDTV yet, can they still pre-wire to my 3rd room? And do I still have to call for the installer to come again set it up and activate it when I have the 3rd HDTV?
5. Once the wiring is done, how easy is it to connect the TV myself? (for the future HDTV in the room)
6. What kind of equipments and package will you suggest me to order for the upper setup? i.e. how many HD or SD receiver should I have? (Of cus I would like to have HD access)


Sorry for all those dumb questions, and thanks for your advise. :)

Frank

[BLWedge09]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this whole new satellite/DirecTV world, and I have some dumb questions that want to ask. Hopefully can get some help from the experience people here. I am moving into a new townhouse which has 3 story, and want to get rid of comcast(I live in CA BTW). And I currently have 2 HDTV, 1 SDTV. Here is what I am going to setup:

1st HDTV will be in the living room on the 2nd floor.
2nd HDTV will be in one of the room on the 3rd floor.
The SDTV will be on the 1st floor.
Planning to buy a 3rd HDTV for the second room on the 3rd floor (maybe in another 3 months)

I already have a cable connector in the living room and the rooms on the 3rd floor, but nothing on the 1st floor.

Here goes my (noob) questions:
1. Do I have to use the receiver for the TV or I can use the build in TV-tuner of my TV?
2. If my TV already has a built-in HD tuner, do I still need a HD-receiver in order to have HD access?
3. I am worry about the room in the first floor, since there is no cable connector, will the installer charge me a lot for wiring?
4. Since I don't have the 3rd HDTV yet, can they still pre-wire to my 3rd room? And do I still have to call for the installer to come again set it up and activate it when I have the 3rd HDTV?
5. Once the wiring is done, how easy is it to connect the TV myself? (for the future HDTV in the room)
6. What kind of equipments and package will you suggest me to order for the upper setup? i.e. how many HD or SD receiver should I have? (Of cus I would like to have HD access)



Sorry for all those dumb questions, and thanks for your advise. :)

Frank

1. You have to have a DirecTV receiver for each television.
2. Yes, you have to have an HD receiver to receive the HD sat signals.
3. I'm honestly not sure what DirecTV's actual policy is on cable drops. It seems to depend on the installation company and the actual installer that shows up. Just be prepared for the possibility of an extra charge.
4. You might be able to pay the guy to wire it for you, but they aren't going to do it for free if you're not putting a receiver in that room right now.
5. Simple. Cable from wall to DirecTV receiver. Cable from receiver to TV. For HD you'll want to use HDMI or Component.
6. That question really depends on what you want. Just remember, unless you're in an area where they are puttin in SWM's, you'll need two connections for each receiver that has DVR functionality.

[franktam918]

1. You have to have a DirecTV receiver for each television.
2. Yes, you have to have an HD receiver to receive the HD sat signals.
3. I'm honestly not sure what DirecTV's actual policy is on cable drops. It seems to depend on the installation company and the actual installer that shows up. Just be prepared for the possibility of an extra charge.
4. You might be able to pay the guy to wire it for you, but they aren't going to do it for free if you're not putting a receiver in that room right now.
5. Simple. Cable from wall to DirecTV receiver. Cable from receiver to TV. For HD you'll want to use HDMI or Component.
6. That question really depends on what you want. Just remember, unless you're in an area where they are puttin in SWM's, you'll need two connections for each receiver that has DVR functionality.

Thank you sooooo much for ur help~~~
but I still have one more question.
If I am going to connect the 3rd HDTV myself, can I just buy a receiver from ebay? and do I need to activate it with DirecTV or its pretty much plug n play?
Thanks again!!

[TNGTony]

What he said. :)

The reason you need a receiver at every TV is because the signal coming from the satellite and received by the satellite dish is not a cable signal. It is at a totally different frequency. It is also encrypted to prevent poeple from stealing service by just putting up a dish and hooking up the cable to their TV (even if it were possible,) The satellite TV receiver is what coverts the signal to something your TV can "understand". Dish network (and I think DirecTV) make two tuner receivers that allow you to just run another cable to another room and hook it up to that TV. The remote works on an RF frequency so you have independent control in two rooms. However the second TV set would NOT get an HD signal. It would be a very good standard signal, but not HD.

Some TVs used to have DirecTV receivers built in them. I don't know if any are made any more, but they were a rare breed and I really can't recomend them. There are too many options for receivers to lock yourself in that way.

See ya
Tony

[franktam918]

What he said. :)

The reason you need a receiver at every TV is because the signal coming from the satellite and received by the satellite dish is not a cable signal. It is at a totally different frequency. It is also encrypted to prevent poeple from stealing service by just putting up a dish and hooking up the cable to their TV (even if it were possible,) The satellite TV receiver is what coverts the signal to something your TV can "understand". Dish network (and I think DirecTV) make two tuner receivers that allow you to just run another cable to another room and hook it up to that TV. The remote works on an RF frequency so you have independent control in two rooms. However the second TV set would NOT get an HD signal. It would be a very good standard signal, but not HD.

Some TVs used to have DirecTV receivers built in them. I don't know if any are made any more, but they were a rare breed and I really can't recomend them. There are too many options for receivers to lock yourself in that way.

See ya
Tony

Thank you so much for ur explanation Tony~~
I really appreciated it.....:)

[TNGTony]

Thank you sooooo much for ur help~~~
but I still have one more question.
If I am going to connect the 3rd HDTV myself, can I just buy a receiver from ebay? and do I need to activate it with DirecTV or its pretty much plug n play?
Thanks again!!

I'm not certain on DirecTV. I'm sure some one will chime in with information specific to DirecTV (I'm a Dish Network guy) but I am almost certain you can buy a DirecTV receiver on e-bay and attach it to your accout whenever you want. But be very, very careful! If the seller dumps a receiver that has a balance owed on it, you can never, ever get it turned on until that balance is paid off. It doesn't matter you didn't put the balance on it. They will not activate it until that balance is paid off. If you buy a receiver off e-bay make sure to get the smartcard number and receiver number and run it through DirecTV first to make sure the receiver is 1)not leased and ineligible to be sold to you, and 2) doesn't have a balance owed so you can activate it.

If you are a new customer (and it looks like you are), you can get some great 3 and 4 room deals right out of the shoot. I would take advantage of one of these right off the bat. Again, I do not know particulars since I bat for the other guys. :)

See ya
Tony

[inkahauts]

Careful of ebay receivers... Because of the way they do leases, unless its an ebay store, what has been known to happen is people get these receivers and Directv won't activate them because they are owned by Directv, and they should have been returned to them after they were deactivated (assuming your looking at getting a current box). They will not reactivate the unit without it coming back to them first, and usually will never reactive that access card...

[samrs]

Moving into a townhouse is like getting married, read your prenups and get a letter of permission. If the dish has to go on top, three story's requires 40 feet of ladder, mention this when you place your order.

[MONSTERMAN]

Some TVs used to have DirecTV receivers built in them. I don't know if any are made any more, but they were a rare breed and I really can't recomend them. There are too many options for receivers to lock yourself in that way.
Tony

I remember those TV's with the built-in DIRECTV receivers, they were the biggest pieces of crap ever. I used to have the biggest setup/conflict problems with those things (USUALLY RCA's). They were heavier than crap as well. I would never recommend a combo unit of anything to anyone. If one component breaks down the whole thing is garbage.

Why would you ever need to buy a receiver? Leased DIRECTV receivers are the way to go. If it malfunctions you return it and get a new one, sometimes only having to pay the shipping. The service charge for a leased receiver and a bought one are the same.

Tony, I never have seen a DIRECTV receiver that you can hook up to 2 receivers using the 2 DVR tuners. I know DISH has them though.

BTW: I thought that was just an old wives tale, about buying a used receiver and it still having a balance on it. Never heard of anyone having to actually pay off someone else's balance to reactivate an access card. :eek2:

[carl6]

Thank you sooooo much for ur help~~~
but I still have one more question.
If I am going to connect the 3rd HDTV myself, can I just buy a receiver from ebay? and do I need to activate it with DirecTV or its pretty much plug n play?
Thanks again!!

Regardless of where or how you get a receiver, you must activate it with DirecTV and pay the monthly additional receiver fee. If you buy a used receiver from a third party, you will probably have to purchase a new access card for it from DirecTV before they will activate it (approx $20).

As others have noted, be very careful buying DirecTV equipment off auction sites. Almost all DirecTV equipment furnished since March 2006 is leased, not owned, and the person selling it does not have the right to do so. DirecTV will probably not activate a previously leased unit that you purchase.

Carl

[DishCSR]

Tony, I never have seen a DIRECTV receiver that you can hook up to 2 receivers using the 2 DVR tuners. I know DISH has them though.

:

Dish's dvrs have dual output, but dtv's dvr's never did, all dvr's have dual tuners, but only dish's dvr's have dual outputs.

[litzdog911]

Dish's dvrs have dual output, but dtv's dvr's never did, all dvr's have dual tuners, but only dish's dvr's have dual outputs.

Not quite sure what you mean by "dual outputs". But DirecTV DVRs do have two sets of AV ouputs. I think the difference is that Dish DVRs can output two different video signals on their two outputs, while the DirecTV DVRs only output one video feed on both outputs simulteneously.

[houskamp]

Not quite sure what you mean by "dual outputs". But DirecTV DVRs do have two sets of AV ouputs. I think the difference is that Dish DVRs can output two different video signals on their two outputs, while the DirecTV DVRs only output one video feed on both outputs simulteneously.
and the second output is SD only IIRC..

[MONSTERMAN]

Not quite sure what you mean by "dual outputs". But DirecTV DVRs do have two sets of AV ouputs. I think the difference is that Dish DVRs can output two different video signals on their two outputs, while the DirecTV DVRs only output one video feed on both outputs simulteneously.


Yes, this is what I was trying to say...:rolleyes:

[TNGTony]

BTW: I thought that was just an old wives tale, about buying a used receiver and it still having a balance on it. Never heard of anyone having to actually pay off someone else's balance to reactivate an access card. :eek2:

Nope. Not a wives' tale. :) As a matter of fact I was involved in a thread on the other site this week where some one bought a Dish receiver with a balance on it. The OP was fit to be tied because Dish would not activate the receiver until the $800 balance was paid off. They didn't care who sent the money, but until they got it, that receiver was a door stop! I've personally had to turn down activating phones when I worked for GTE Wireless (now Verizon nationally or T-Mobile in the cinci area) because people bought a phone from a "friend" and then found out that the phone was a door stop until the account it was on was paid off. :) I'm certain DirecTV works the same way as every phone company and Dish in this respect.

See ya
Tony

[toober]

I thought with D* it was the cards, not the recievers, that carried the balance. I was under the impression that if you bought a used box, all you had to do was order a new card for it(assuming of course that it is owned and not leased).

[inkahauts]

That is true, but also understand that the boxes are owned by Directv, and when they ship them to a customer, they are attached to an access card, and with the newest machines, they appear to only detach and reattach cards when they are actually in their possession, and won't do it by sending you a card on a leased receiver that has no card and is attached to a card from another account other than yours...

[franktam918]

Thank you so much for everyone's help and explanation.
Now i know what I should do. :)